Troubleshooting

Start with the last interaction you tried. Open Rule Trace, perform that interaction once and look for a new run.

Nothing happens

If there is no new trace, check that recording is enabled and that Run Story Director is actually reached. A Trigger waiting for an earlier sequence may ignore another activation.

If the Director ran but found no match, check these in order:

1. The Rule component is enabled and its GameObject is active.
2. Its category matches the request, or the Rule is global.
3. It has enabled criteria. An empty list scores zero and cannot match.
4. Every mandatory criterion passes.
5. A history check is not correctly preventing another play.

Use a single test Rule with Always True and Log Text if you need to check the basic connection. The first reaction lesson walks through that setup.

The wrong Rule wins

Compare priority before score. An Important Rule beats a Normal Rule whenever it is eligible, even if the Normal Rule matches more facts.

Then check optional conditions. They add preference; they do not prevent an unsuitable response. Any fact needed to make the response true belongs in Mandatory Criteria.

Also look for global Rules. They participate in named category requests too.

A line repeats

Repeat avoidance only helps choose between otherwise equal candidates. The best or only matching Rule can repeat.

For a hard restriction, add Rule Has Not Played or Rule Not Played Recently to mandatory criteria. Use This Rule for a self-reference.

A first-time response will not play again during testing

Check Story Insights > History. Reset the relevant Rule's history when you want to replay a first meeting. Clearing Rule Trace does not reset history, and reloading a scene preserves it.

The Director says Rejected (busy)

The Rule is set to One at a time, is already running and the request is set to Reject. Let the response finish, use Try Another if an alternative is appropriate, or review whether independent overlapping runs are actually safe.

The Director says Rejected (loop)

The instruction chain is asking a Rule to enter itself again, possibly through another Rule. Change the matching facts before continuing the chain, or let a new player interaction ask for the next response.

Example materials are pink

The included rendered examples use URP. Check the render pipeline assigned in both Graphics settings and the active Quality level. A Quality-level override takes precedence.

Example characters, animations or text are missing

Check the required content packs and import TextMeshPro Essential Resources if requested. The examples reference some content from the licensed Game Creator installation.

Unity reports missing Game Creator classes or methods

Use an official Core upload compatible with your exact Unity version. A matching Core version number alone does not guarantee that its Unity compatibility code is the right one. See Compatibility.

A copied Rule has an identity warning

Newly authored copies normally receive their own identities. If Unity reports ambiguous older copies, review the warning and use Tools > Game Creator > Story Engine > Resolve Copied Rule Identities.

For characters instantiated during play, read the actor-history setup instead. Fixing an active collision does not create a persistent character identity.

A category rename failed

The Console reports the operation and its backup path. Successful rollback retains the previous values. If rollback could not restore every file, restore each affected file using the files.txt manifest in that StoryEngineBackups folder, then refresh Unity.

You can review backups from Window > Game Creator > Story Engine > Categories > Review Backups. Keep the recovery copies you still need before removing old backup folders.

If you are still stuck, send a small, reproducible example.